


5 Times Tony Helped Peter

by fierce_redhead



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: 5+1 Things, Gen, Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Tony Stark Has A Heart, and his name is Peter, and up to infinity war, sort of canon compliant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-21
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-06-14 04:46:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15380955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fierce_redhead/pseuds/fierce_redhead
Summary: ... plus 1 time he couldn't.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This first part takes place right after the plane crash in Homecoming, and the only thing I'm changing from canon is that Tony and Peter meet right away and not later at the compound.

Tony received the call from a frantic Happy as he was about to settle down for the night.

 “Boss, there was a problem with the plane. It crashed. I think the kid had something to do with it.”

 Tony’s heart missed a beat. What could Peter possibly have to do with the plane crashing?  Without his suit and, most of all, without a  _goddamn parachute_?

 “What do you mean he had something to do with it? Is he okay? What happened?” he asked, suddenly completely alert, as he sat up on the bed.

 “I don’t really know, I just know some kid named Ted called me a few minutes beforehand saying he was Peter’s guy in the chair and blabbering about something I don’t remember, next thing I know the plane is in flames and crashing down.”

 Tony abruptly ended the call. He didn’t really need to know anything else.

 “FRIDAY, send up a suit right now.” he said, adrenaline spiking in his body.

“Already on it, boss.” the voice answered, while the suit flew into his room.  


As the suit closed around him, he decided to try calling Peter, even though he already knew nobody was going to answer.

 “FRIDAY, contact Peter Parker.” he told his AI.

 “I’m afraid I cannot currently reach him, sir.” it answered, worsening the feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach.

 “Set a course to the location of the plane crash, and give maximum energy to the thrusters.” He said, already taking off through the open window.

 “Yes boss. The plane crash occurred in Coney Island, it will take you about 15 minutes to get there.” 

As he flew there as fast as he possibly could, Tony thought about what could possibly have happened. Peter didn’t have his suit, but of course this would not stop him from doing reckless things, just as he did before he got it. And without his suit he obviously had no way of contacting Tony if he needed him. He didn’t even have Tony’s personal number.  _Why hadn’t he given the kid his goddamn number?_

The worst possible scenarios kept playing in his head. Peter falling to his death from the burning plane, Peter being crashed by said plane, the plane exploding - no, he had to stop or he would have a panic attack before being able to even get there.

Each minute seemed to last like an hour, but eventually he reached the location, and the first thing he could see from above was the wreckage of the plane and the flames engulfing it. Then he also noticed the police and firemen also getting on the scene.

“FRIDAY, scan the place for Peter.” he said, heart hammering in his chest, hovering above the site.

 “He is behind the Ferris wheel, sir, and he seems to be moving.” the voice answered.

 Tony took a deep breath. Alright, moving was good, he could do with moving. At least the kid wasn’t dead.

He flew down to the place FRIDAY pointed him to, and quickly found him. He was wearing the ridiculous onesie he once insisted on calling his ‘suit’, with the mask in his hand, walking with a slight limp. He landed close behind him, and Peter spun around with a shocked look on his face as he heard the noise from the repulsors, face going white as a sheet.

 “Mr. Stark! I-“ he began.

 “Are you okay?” Tony interrupted him, stepping closer and making the helmet transition back into the suit to take a good look at the kid.

 “What? Yeah, I think-“ He seemed taken aback when Tony interrupted him again.

 “Is anything broken? Why are you limping?  _What the hell happened_?” He asked, without giving him time to actually answer any of the questions.

 “Well, huh, remember the Vulture? No, wait, don’t look at me like that –“ Tony was already about to go off about not listening to him as he still went after the Vulture, after he repeatedly told him not to, and not only this, but also with  _no protection whatsoever_  as he didn’t have his suit, but the kid stopped him before he could.

 “- I didn’t actively go after him. He turned out to be my homecoming date’s dad-“  _What?_  “-and I realized he was going to try and take what was on the plane and I had to stop him!” he said almost without taking a breath.

“Kid, you didn’t  _have_  to do anything. You could have  _died_! How the hell did you manage to get in a flying plane? Without your suit?”

Yeah. The suit. Tony felt a feeling of guilt surge in his gut. He knew that taking it away wouldn’t make the kid stay safely at home, but he also hoped it would limit the danger of the things he could do. He was beginning to regret that decision immensely. He also started to regret being so harsh with Peter, who clearly had just been through some shit.

 “Well, I wasn’t really  _in_ the plane, more like outside of it, but I managed to stick to it and to avoid the engines!” He replied, as if that was something that would calm Tony down.

 _Avoid the engines_? Luckily Tony didn’t hear this as it was happening or there would definitely be a lot more gray hair on his head.

 “And also, I tried contacting Happy to warn him, or, well, Ned did-“ “Wait, who?” “-Ned, my best friend, my guy in the chair, you know, but Happy didn’t listen so I really had no way of contacting you, I’m sorry, Mr. Stark!” he said, staring at him wide-eyed, probably afraid he would raise his voice again.

Tony took a deep, calming breath and decided to go easy on the kid, who, as stupidly selfless as he was, really had no way of contacting him and still managed to get out of all of this mess alive and mostly unscathed.

 “Calm down, kid. I’m not mad, I was just really,  _really_  worried. I feel like I’m responsible for you, and I am definitely responsible for taking away the safety of your suit, even if I did think it was a good idea, and I am sorry for that. I’m glad you’re okay. Now I’m going to take you to the Medbay to fix you up, and you’ll tell me exactly what happened. You have a lot of explaining to do. Any injury I should be made aware of?” He asked, eyeing him up and down, subtly relieved of the fact that he was able to maintain his voice even and calm through the whole thing. This was probably why Peter didn’t look like he was afraid to receive another lecture right there and then.

 “Oh, well, I hurt my leg when the plane crashed and I think I bruised some ribs from the building, but otherwise I’m okay!” Peter replied with a tone that was far too cheerful to be describing his injuries.

 “What building?” Tony inquired, eyebrows frowning.

Peter looked like he realized he did not want to say what he did, but Tony sure as hell wouldn’t let it go. “Yeah, uhm, a building kind of fell on me? I was in a warehouse with the Vulture and he-“

 “Christ, kid, you’ll be the death of me.” Tony interrupted him again, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes. “Don’t tell me anything else right now, I am one sentence away from a stroke. Let’s go and you’ll tell me everything once we’re both settled and calmed down.”

 “Sure, sir. Oh, and Mr. Stark?” Peter asked as he was about to pick him up to fly to the compound.

 “Yeah, kid?”

 “Thank you for coming.”

 “Yeah kiddo, no problem. Though you aren’t leaving the compound without my number, this time.” he said as Peter kept looking at him, and his face lit up with a smile.

 He definitely liked to make the kid smile.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peter deals with the day of Ben's birthday for the first time after he died.

It was almost 3 pm when Tony was finally able to get out of an incredibly boring board meeting – he normally would have missed it, but Pepper seemed _really_ keen on him going and he definitely would have preferred to keep every part of his body intact.

 

Happy was supposed to pick up Peter at school in a few minutes and take him to the compound so that Tony could fix his suit, as the kid somehow managed to tear it on his left leg – and Tony had no idea _how,_ since he made sure to make the suit resistant to basically every kind of blade existing. He was going to make good use of the Baby Monitor Protocol, later.

 

“Happy, it’s me. Tell Peter I’m going to be about 20 minutes late, the meeting was longer than I thought.” He said as soon as Happy picked up the phone.

 

“Yeah boss about that, I’m outside the school right now, and when I pick him up Peter is usually here right away, but most of the kids are out already and I don’t see him yet. Did he skip school today? Should I call him?” Happy asked on the other line, voice underlined with a subtle worry. He began to care a lot more about the kid ever since the Vulture accident, even if he didn’t want to show it.

 

That was weird. Even if Peter had skipped school he surely would have told either Happy or Tony. Knowing the kid, it was impossible for him to forget he was supposed to go to the compound.

 

“I don’t know, Happy. I’m going to call him and find out, you go home for now and don’t worry.” He said, even if he was beginning to get a little anxious himself. It wasn’t like Peter, that was true, but that did not mean that something bad happened.

 

“Alright, I’ll go. Let me know if you find out something.” He answered, ending the call.

 

As he got into his car he called Peter, but he did not pick up. It didn’t go straight to voicemail though, so the phone was at least turned on, which meant he could locate it.

 

“FRIDAY, where’s Peter?” He asked to his thankfully ever-present AI.

 

“His phone is currently at home, but Peter is not. He is in his suit, on top of a building approximately four blocks away.” FRIDAY answered.

 

“Is he just standing there? How are his vitals?” He asked, worry starting to be replaced by confusion.

 

“Yes, he is not moving. His vitals seem to be fine, nothing out of the ordinary.”

 

FRIDAY then proceeded to show him the exact location on his glasses. He could easily reach it with his car, there was really no point in taking the suit.

 

He quickly found the building and easily opened the front door, taking the elevator to the top floor and climbing another set of stairs to get onto the roof.

 

When he opened the door, he spotted Peter right away. He wasn’t exactly hiding, but he also wasn’t doing anything in particular. He was sitting on the edge of the building, back turned to Tony, and he seemed to be gazing into the horizon, not focusing on anything specific.

Not wanting to scare the kid, he started to approach him and softly called after him. Nevertheless, Peter jumped at the sound of his name and was on his feet in a second, taking off his mask when he saw it was him.

 

“Mr. Stark! I didn’t hear you coming, I was distracted!” And then a look of realization flashed across his face. “Wait, today I was supposed to come over to the compound! Oh my god Mr. Stark I am so sorry, I completely forgot about it!” He said, eyes wide and looking almost scared.

If he didn’t already suspect something was off when the kid didn’t show, he surely would now just by looking at his face. He was pale, and looked tired, even by his teenage-superhero standards.

 

“Yeah I kind of figured that out already. No problem, squirt, I was in the neighbourhood anyway. Wanna tell me what’s going on? Must be something big if you forgot about it with your suit looking like that.” He said, eyeing Peter’s leg, on which the suit sported a large gash.

 

Peter followed his gaze and seemed to remember about it in that moment. “Oh, yeah, I kind of forgot about it but it’s no big deal. It’s stupid, really.”

 

Tony raised a brow. “We’re going to talk about the suit later. And, kid. Whatever ‘it’ is, it’s clearly having an impact on you, and you know me enough by now that you should know I’m not going to let it go.” He said, sitting down in the middle of the roof. “Come on, sit down.”

 

Peter looked at him for a second before following his instructions, and they found themselves in front of each other.

“When you’re ready, I’m listening.” He said, noticing the hesitation in the kid’s expression.

 

“It’s a bit embarrassing, really. It’s just that today is –well, was- Ben’s birthday, and by now I’ve kinda got used to his absence, you know, but today it’s particularly hard.” Peter confessed, head bowed and eyes fixed to the ground between them.

 

Tony kept looking at him but said nothing, sensing that he was not done.

 

“Usually on his birthday I’d stay home from school and we’d go somewhere special, like the zoo, or an amusement park, sometimes with Aunt May, but mostly just the two of us. It was kind of our tradition. And this is the first birthday after he died, and I couldn’t manage to go to school. It would have made it feel too real again, you know?” He said, voice thick with emotion, finally looking up at Tony, eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

 

Tony was starting to feel bad himself just by looking at how hurt and sad Peter was. He was so young, and had already gone through so much. And he was the last person to deserve those things happening to him. Tony knew how awful it was to lose loved ones, and how it never really went away.

 

“Peter, this is absolutely not something stupid. I know how hard it is, trust me, and I wish you wouldn’t have to go through it. The grieving… well, I have to be honest, it never really goes away, but with time it does become easier. But there are also days in which it is going to be harder, and you have to stick through them and just wait for them to end. Something that helps, on those days, is to try and take your mind off of it and surround yourself with people that love you and that you love.” Tony took a deep breath before continuing.

“Now, please, keep in mind that I’m not going to try and replace your uncle, but what do you think if we get out of here and go somewhere together? Maybe to get an ice-cream or something?” Tony told him, trying and failing not to think of the implications of what he just said.

 

He indirectly told Peter he loved him, and offered to comfort him. He cared about the kid too much for his own good. And probably for Peter’s good too, seeing what usually happened to the people he loved. He decided not to focus on that, in that moment.

 

“Yeah, yeah, I would like that.” Peter sniffed, brushing away the tears that had started to fall as Tony talked.

 

“Come on, kiddo, let’s go then.” He said, getting up, rapidly brushing his pants and offering the kid a hand to help him up.

 

Peter grasped his hand and got on his feet, and Tony instinctively pulled him in a hug. Peter initially froze but immediately relaxed against him, wrapping his arms around Tony and burying his face in the crook of his neck. They stood like that for a few seconds when Tony spoke.

 

“That was not a hug, I was just losing my balance and used you to stop my fall.” He said, recalling one of their first encounters, trying to ease the tension.

 

It made Peter laugh out loud, and they separated.

 

“Yeah Mr. Stark, of course, we’re still not there yet.” He said, speaking through his smile.

 

“Right. Let’s go, there’s a new place uptown that I’ve been wanting to try.” Tony said. “You might want to change, though, or you’re going to be a little recognizable.”

 

Peter looked down at himself once more. “Oh, yeah, right. Maybe we could stop at my place for a minute? I think I left my phone there.”

 

“Yeah kiddo, you have.” He said, mouth quirking up, glad to see that Peter already looked a bit more like himself.

 

He put a hand on his shoulder in a half-hug and walked with him to the door he came through, when he suddenly stopped.

 

“Peter.”

 

“What?”  


_“How the hell did you tear the suit?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to start writing part 3 later tonight, I'll try to upload it as soon as I can!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> May can't go to parent-teacher conference so of course Tony goes instead. Fluff ensues.

Tony’s concentration was disrupted when an annoying noise started to ring out in his lab, and he realized, after a few seconds, that said noise came from his phone.

 

“FRIDAY, answer it and tell whoever it is I’m in meeting or something, you pick.” He said, not even lifting his eyes from the careful work he was doing on a particularly intricate part of his suit.

 

“Sir, it’s May Parker.”

 

_Ah_. Luckily FRIDAY knew better than to always listen to him.

 

Suddenly reminded of his last call with dear Aunt May, when she freaked out at him after finding out about Peter, he decided he didn’t want to take any chances in making her angry again and picked up.

 

“Hello Mr. Stark-er, Tony?” She corrected herself. It was weird for her to still call him Mr. Stark after screaming at him over the phone for over half an hour. “It’s May Parker. Is it a bad time?”

 

“No, not at all.” He said, eyeing his tools left by the suit. “I’m always free for the Parkers. How can I help you?”

 

“Well, you see, today is the day of parent-teacher conferences at Peter’s school, and I can’t really afford to skip another shift, so I thought maybe you could go instead? Please, don’t feel obliged, I know you’re a busy man, if you can’t it is totally okay, but if you can just know Peter would love it. He looks up to you, and I understand the two of you have been getting closer, recently.” May told him, and Tony didn’t need to hear anything after that first sentence to know he would go.

 

It would be a little weird, maybe, to attend a _parent_ -teacher conference. He was definitely becoming something akin to a father figure to Peter, but Tony hoped he wouldn’t think he was trying to replace his late uncle. Still, he cared about the kid, he cared _a lot_ , and he was proud of him. Nothing bad in listening to his teachers gushing about him, right? He had seen it in his lab multiple times, the kid was nothing short of gifted, if not a genius for his age. The first proof he had of that were his web-shooters, which he made _by himself_ , and by scavenging components God only knows where, when he was only 14.

 

So yeah, his teachers would have nothing but great things to say about him, he was sure about that, and he wanted to hear all of them.

 

“Of course May, no problem. Send me a text with the time and place and I’ll be there.” He answered, the updates on his suit already forgotten in his mind.

 

“Oh, that’s great, thank you! Another thing, I haven’t actually told Peter about this yet as I didn’t want to get his hopes up in case you said no. Do you want to tell him?”

 

“You know what? I think I’m going to make it a surprise. Just to embarrass him a little in front of his friends.”

 

“That’s actually a good idea. These last few nights he came back home way after his curfew, and he thinks I don’t know. So, be as loud and obnoxious as you can be, I’m totally on board with that.” She said, and he could hear the smile in her voice.

 

“Oh trust me, I will. Thank you, May. Bye!” He said, ending the call. Obnoxious? Yeah, that wouldn’t be difficult for him.

 

* * *

 

 “Peter! Hi, I’m here!” He shouted from the end of the hall, making all the parents and students in it turn to look at him, dressed in an expensive suit and his orange glasses. As people started to recognize him, the looking rapidly turned into openly staring. He was used to it, of course, but the kid was not. Oh, this was going to be fun.

 

“Mr. Stark? What are you doing here?” Peter said almost whispering, rapidly walking towards him with wide eyes and grabbing his arm, probably to lead him somewhere more private, but he wouldn’t budge.

 

“Ah, yes, I forgot to tell you. Your aunt called me to tell me she wouldn’t be able to make it, so I came.” He answered, keeping the level of his voice way louder than Peter’s. People were starting to take pictures now, as he was able to tell by the raised phones and the occasional flash.

 

The kid was about to say something but Tony interrupted him before he could start, turning towards the teenagers who had followed Peter.

 

“Oh, hi, you must be Peter’s friends. Ned, right? And MJ? I heard a lot about you. I’m Tony.” He said, offering his hand to the two teenagers, who shook it one after the other. He barely kept in a chuckle after seeing Peter’s face become completely red.

 

“Oh, my God, Tony Stark knows who I am,” he heard the kid whisper to himself, staring at Tony. From the looks of it he was about to hyperventilate. The other girl, MJ, was way calmer, and seemed to be eyeing him critically. She didn’t say anything. He could kind of see why Peter both liked and feared her.

 

“Mr. Stark you didn’t have to come, I mean, I know you have a lot of important meetings to attend and people to meet, this is just a stupid school thing. Really, it’s no big deal!” Peter said, and Tony realized that _he meant it_. As if Tony didn’t care about any aspect of his life other than his being Spiderman, as if Tony didn’t care enough about him to do something that would make him happy. The kid really needed to work on his self-esteem.

 

“What? Please, Peter. Of course I came. Besides my wanting to check on you, I also need to check how my interns are doing in school, don’t I?” He told the kid, hoping he would understand the underlying message.

 

And it seemed like he did, as something flashed in his eyes, something Tony wasn’t able to decipher, yet.

 

“Yeah, well, I guess so.” He answered, when he seemed to notice the crowd that had gathered around them during their conversation.

 

“Please, Mr. Stark, we’re making a scene, can we go somewhere else?” Peter asked, while continuously sneaking glances to the people staring at them. And they were, in fact, causing a bit of a scene in the middle of the hallway. Nothing unmanageable, though.

 

“No way, kiddo. And please, I told you a million times, call me Tony.” He told Peter, even if he knew it would probably take years before he dropped the ‘Mr. Stark’. The kid was just like that.

“So, where do I have to go? Who do I talk with first?” He said, taking off his glasses and acting normally, as if people weren’t taking photos and videos of him at that very moment. He _was_ used to it, after all. And even if Peter was acting like he was embarrassed, (which, well, maybe he was a little bit) Tony knew that he would be happy about his classmates knowing he was on a first-name basis with _the_ Tony Stark _._ It was only fair, as he bragged with his friends about Peter every chance he got.

 

“Oh, uhm, I think Mr. Bennet is free, room 5A. He teaches Spanish,” Peter told him after briefly checking the list in his hand.

 

“Great. Come on, let’s go then.” He said, putting a hand on Peter’s back and letting himself be guided towards the class.

 

* * *

 

Well. To say he was proud of the kid would be an understatement. All of his teachers, as he predicted, gushed about him and told Tony how talented he was, especially in science (which was nothing new to Tony, but he still swelled with pride as he heard somebody else tell him).

 

He was also sure that none of them had exaggerated in telling him these things just to please him (some of them did look a bit star-struck) as Peter’s grades were proof enough of their truthfulness, and he was told that if he kept it up, with all his extracurriculars and the fame of his school, he would easily get in any college he wanted.

Of course he would go to MIT but Tony wasn’t going to press the subject for, like, another week, at least. The kid had better be prepared for it.

 

Even though he didn’t want to let on how proud he actually was, he still decided to tell the kid that, he deserved it.

 

“Peter, I know I don’t tell you this very often, and I am not good at all that touchy-feely stuff, but you did good, kiddo. I’m proud of you.” Tony told him as they entered his flashy orange Audi, which gathered a lot of stares itself.

 

“Thank you, Mr. Stark. It means a lot to me that you came. And also, people at my school will finally believe that my internship with you is real, that’s a plus!” He said giddily, in his seat.

 

“What? Why, didn’t they before?” He asked, surprised, turning towards Peter.

 

“Well, at first they did, but then someone convinced them that it was a lie and no one believed me anymore. Besides Ned and MJ, of course.” Peter explained, and things started to add up in Tony’s brain.

 

“Is this ‘someone’ the same someone that has made you feel like shit multiple times? You think I don’t notice, kid, but I do, even when you don’t want to talk about it.” Tony asked him, brows furrowing.

 

There was a moment of silence before Peter talked again.

 

“Yes, it is. But I’m sorry, I’m feeling very good right now, maybe we could talk about it some other time? I swear I’ll tell you, I just want to go take a walk or eat an ice-cream or something.” He said, the little smile he had plastered on beginning to falter.

 

Tony decided to let it go, for now, not wanting to ruin either his or Peter’s mood. But he would definitely not forget about it.

 

“Alright, Peter. You know what? Hell, we’ll have ice-cream for dinner. Just don’t tell Aunt May, please.” Tony answered, causing Peter’s smile to return in full force to his mouth.

 

That night Peter ended up sleeping at the compound, after eating a full tub of ice-cream and falling asleep on the couch during the second (or was it the third?) film of their Star Wars marathon.

 

As he watched Peter drool on a pillow, feet draped on Tony’s lap, he felt happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Next part will feature Tony finding out about Flash, so there will be some protective!Tony and some angst because why not


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony learns about Flash. Protective!Tony ensues.

Tony was elbow-deep in his latest project and so focused on it that he barely heard FRIDAY announce that Peter had just entered the building.

 

The kid had been coming to hang out with him after school a lot lately, and they spent much of this time in his lab. Tony had always known Peter was smart, of course, but he couldn’t help but be pleasantly surprised by some of his ideas and theories. He was not exactly as smart as Tony was at his age, –but, frankly, he doubted there were more than a handful people as smart as him, modesty be damned- but he did come close. Surely there weren’t a lot of 17-year-olds that could hack into a suit programmed by _Tony Stark,_ which he was still pissed about, but still, that was not an easy feat, and then come up with his own ideas to improve it, some of which he managed to build on his own.

 

Today he decided he would let Peter work on one of his Iron Man suits, not the newest one as he was still in the early stages of the project and nano-tech was _incredibly_ complex, but he knew the kid would be ecstatic nonetheless.

 

“Hey squirt! I got a surprise today. Wait- Peter, are you okay?” Tony stopped abruptly as Peter was uncharacteristically calm and quiet. By now he normally would have already greeted Tony, a big smile plastered on his face, and started telling him how his day went. Right now Tony couldn’t even see his face properly because he kept his gaze strictly directed at the floor.

 

“Yeah Mr. Stark, I’m great! What surprise were you talking about?” He answered, his tone clearly trying to be cheerful but sounding very much fake. He still hadn’t lifted his eyes up, hands shuffling in his backpack, which he had put down on the floor.

 

“Peter. Look at me.” He replied, mouth pressed into a thin line.

Peter sighed, and after a few seconds he lifted his head.

 

“Mr. Stark, wait, it’s not what you think-“

 

“Then what is it, Peter? Because it damn sure looks to me like somebody hit you. And you were supposed to be in school.”

 

The two of them had reached an agreement that he would prioritize school, so Peter knew better than to skip class to go out fighting criminals. FRIDAY was supposed to alert him if that happened, that was weird, but the bruise on the side of his face didn’t leave room for any other explanation. Unless…

 

“No Tony I swear, I was in school! I just tripped, that’s it.” Peter told him. And he also used his first name, which he normally did whenever Tony was _very_ pissed or worried.

 

“You tripped.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Peter, please, don’t insult my intelligence. You know better than that.”

 

There was a moment of pause, uncertainty flashing in Peter’s eyes.

 

“It’s nothing, a kid pushed me against the locker and I hit the air vents. It’s not that bad, in a couple of hours it will be completely healed!” He confessed.

 

Tony took a deep breath.

 

“Kid, I don’t even know where to begin with this. First, you have _powers._ You catch things that I throw at you when you’re not even looking at me. You want to make me believe that you didn’t see this coming? And second, I already have to worry about you getting hurt while you’re Spiderman, I really do not want to be worried when you should be safe in school. I don’t care about your healing factor. Who was it?” He asked, arms crossing on his chest.

 

“It’s a kid on my Decathlon team. Well, he’s not really on the team, but he’s trying to make me drop out so that he can take my place.”

  
“Why have you never told me about it? He’s a bully, Peter, you need to talk to an adult about these things.” Tony was angry because it was _just like Peter_ to not talk about something that was bothering him, but he tried to keep his voice controlled.

 

“He’s not a bully! He just pushed me a couple of times, otherwise he’s just mean, but harmless.”

 

“Peter, if he makes you feel bad, or hurt, even with words, he is a _damn bully_. And for God’s sake, you’re Spiderman. You could kick his ass into next town if you wanted to. Why don’t you react?”

 

“I can’t. I couldn’t before I was Spiderman, so I can’t now.” He said, voice resigned.

 

“And you just let him insult you and hit you? Does that seem like a sound idea to you?”

 

“Of course not! But it’s not like the teachers care. Or anyone aside from MJ and Ned, really.”

 

“Dear God, Peter. May cares. I care. You know I do. And you should _tell somebody_ these things. What’s the little asshole’s name?”

 

“Flash. Flash Thompson. But I swear he’s not that bad, please don’t to anything rash!” Yeah. _Watch me_ , he wanted to tell him.

 

“Flash? For real? Then I get why he’s an asshole, his parents must not be much better. Jesus Christ. Listen kid, let me take care of it, okay? Trust me on this. But you have to promise me that in the future you’ll tell me whenever something bugs you. And I mean _anything_ , are we clear? And God forbid I see another non-Spiderman related bruise on you, or you’ll never hear the end of it.” He said, grasping the kid’s shoulder and looking into his eyes until he nodded.

 

“Yeah we are, Mr. Sta- Tony.” He corrected himself. _Small steps_ , Tony thought.

 

“Good. Now that we cleared that up, what do you think about tinkering with one of my old suits?”

 

“ _What?_ ” Peter answered, practically jumping from excitement. 

 

* * *

 

 “Is this the place, FRIDAY?” Tony said into his earpiece, car parked on the side of the street.

 

“Yes, boss. The correct door should be the one exactly on your right.” The AI answered as Tony stepped out of his bright orange Audi.

 

He made his way to the door, and ringed the bell of the Thompsons’ household. After a few seconds he heard steps on the other side of the wall.

 

An asshole-ish looking kid (okay, maybe he was not exactly impartial, but still) opened the door, and consequently opened his mouth too when he realized who was standing in front of him. After all Tony knew he made a certain impression, especially with his trimmed goatee, his perfectly tailored suit and his repulsor watch, which could easily be seen on his wrist.

 

“What- You’re-“ The kid started.

 

“Yes, I am Tony Stark. And you’re Flash Thompson, right?” The kid nodded but didn’t say anything.

 

“Listen, I want to keep this unpleasant encounter as brief as possible. I happen to know you’ve been bothering my intern Peter Parker, and I also happen to care about him. So consider this a warning. If you ever lay your hands on him again or do something as small as call him a mean nickname, I’ll make sure the only career available for you for the rest of your life will be assistant manager in a second class fast food. I would really prefer if you didn’t interact with him, like, at all. And trust me, if you do, _I will know.”_ He added, keeping his voice as cold and threatening as possible.

 

“Okay, I think I said all I wanted to say. Are we clear?”

 

Flash nodded, still too shocked to say a word.

 

“Great. Fantastic conversation. I really hope for you I won’t need to see you again. Goodbye.” He said, turning on his heels and walking back into his car.

 

* * *

 

Tony smiled when he heard Peter’s message arrive, even before knowing what he wrote.

 

_Mr. Stark, what did you do?!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay guys!! Anyway, thanks to my awesome beta peterisspidermanconfirmed.tumblr.com!

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to find me on Tumblr here's the link :)
> 
> fierce-redhead.tumblr.com


End file.
